TowerFall Ascension Proves That Indies Perform Best on PS4

You may roll your eyes like the Churchill Dog each time that you see a new indie game announced for the PlayStation 4, but with the mid-tier market all but dead at this point in time, smaller digital downloads are going to become increasingly important to the next-gen platform. It’s reassuring, then, that Sony has made some serious strides in this space – and its latest device is providing the ideal home for downloadable games.

Despite being billed as Ouya’s killer-app, TowerFall Ascension – which was ported to the next-gen console earlier this year – is actually performing best on the Japanese giant’s super machine, even outpacing the PC version released through Steam. “It's actually doing better on the PS4,” creator Matt Thorson told Eurogamer.net. “It's doing definitely well enough for me to support myself for quite awhile. That's really encouraging.”

In actual fact, the game has grossed an impressive $500,000 across all platforms thus far, which is a significant sum for an old-school archery game with 16-bit graphics. Asked why he thinks that the title’s performing best on Sony’s system, he suggested that the multiplayer premise fits it like a glove. “I think that it's just a console game, y’know?” he said. “I think that a lot of people still sit down with their friends when they play their consoles, whereas they don't do that on the PC.”

However, the developer was also eager to praise the way in which the platform holder’s promoted the release. “Another reason it's done so well on the PS4 is [due to the] support from Sony,” he gushed. “They've featured and promoted it really well.” And the firm was right to, as this is a cracking little game. “The mechanics are entertaining, the presentation is charming, and the whole affair is top fun,” we wrote in our review last month. Bullseye?

@sackninja Semantics. The fact that it lacks an online component in favor of a couch co-op does not change that its the same thing as a moba except with local co-op instead of online. I am happy to see more and more indie games on the PlayStation, and glad to see indies making money, but this game doesnt interest me at all.

@Chouzetsu indeed it is. MOBA: Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. If we swap online for local, it describes the game pretty well. There is no need to add "except with punching" since the term does not imply that punching is not a form of battle.